Party Poppers & New Directions

     As soon as I had posted on my Facebook this morning in regards to asking people what they’d hoped for in the upcoming year, or what they wanted to accomplish in 2015 it got my own mind going. I’m striving towards more in 2015, I’m wanting to reach out more to those who read my books and I’m wanting to be more active with my creativity. 2014 was a hard year for me to get a lot of things accomplished on the sidelines in regards to projects, marketing the books, or meeting other writer’s mainly due to time constraints. Not to say at all though that 2014 wasn’t successful. I was incredibly blessed with the reception that ‘In With The Pack’ got back when I released it in August. I met a lot of other great people along the way and made some very close friends in the process which in itself is an automatic success. But, maybe what I’m trying to get at is I want to branch out a little more with myself. Try to dedicate more time to my projects and make them just as successful as I did with Malakai and his pack. I’ve already got another project going that will probably not be released until 2016, but that is ok. It has been slow going and even though I’m trying to put out a new book every year, it’s added a lot of stress to me as well as trying to find the time to keep up with everything else in my life. Hell, I’m an independent and self-published author I am really my own boss that decides on the when’s and where’s of things. But, in the same instance writing is something that I just can’t turn off and walk away from and decide to be done with it for a while or even take a break from.
     Just like one of those internet meme’s that I saw online the other day, ‘Writers can’t take vacations from writing because even on those vacations you are still writing’. It’s the absolute truth of the matter. But in the same instance, it’s just not that. I love to tell stories; I love to give something to someone who says ‘Wow, this was great! When’s the next one happening?’. I’m not meaning to toot my own horn here but if I can entertain someone other than myself when it comes to writing stories then I have succeeded as a writer. But at the same time, I’ve been mulling over ideas of things that I’d like to do in 2015 as well as my writing:

Meeting other local talent- For those who have met me in person, or know where I live. The Lewiston-Clarkston Valley is an extremely small community. With both populations of Lewiston and Clarkston we probably top out at close to around forty-thousand populous. So, when it comes to meeting other local writer’s or talents I am always excited to meet them. I think as writers, artists, photographers, etc. It’s important for us to stick together especially in small towns. But it’s also fun to plan events were you can have more than one person available for signings. It helps with exposure as well for them! One of the things I’d like to do in 2015 is organize more events or even some kind of a writer’s guild locally here in the valley for all of us to come together. Non-judgmental and the first meeting don’t even have to be about reviewing anything. It’s fun just to get together and talk and learn about the other various types of talent that we have here locally. Maybe even organize some events for us all to participate.

Photography- Though this is done away from both pad and paper I’ve always enjoyed photography. At the beginning of the month I shared some pictures on my Facebook with that of an old flour mill that is located just outside the city park in Asotin. When I got them home and photo shopped them a bit and posted them the response I got was very humbling. So, I was thinking of maybe also doing some kind of photography class or just doing freelance and working on what I already know to take some pictures here locally around the valley and beyond. Where I live there are lots of woods, rivers, canyons, and even some ghost towns for pictures to be taken in. That is also something else I’d like to do both with snowy weather, and sunny weather. Photos capture so much, and even with landscapes that stay vivid in your head it could lead to potential story settings. Really, it’s a win-win situation for me.

Video Productions- Though I know very little about this particular field, I had the opportunity in both 2013 and 2014 to help with video productions of a few budding directors. While the opportunities have been smaller and not as abundant as they had been, this is something that I’d still like to help in. It’s exciting to see people’s ideas jump from the paper to flesh and blood characters. How excited the entire production team is to making this the best product that they can regardless if it is a serious movie or if it’s a humorous movie. The expectations and standards that these independent film artists hold themselves to are phenomenal. It’s almost as intense as writing a book. A little more stress added when you are dealing with the actors/actresses. Where in the process of writing a story you can tell them exactly what you want them to do and you won’t get any fuss about it. With actors/actresses you may get a degree of defiance whether it’s something they don’t agree with on their character or time constraints. Either way, I enjoyed being a part of the production value and helping them realize their own dreams.
     I’d also considered doing more video blogs in the upcoming months of 2015. From what I understand blogs are kind of going on the wayside of things and that VLOGS are the most popular route to go when you are trying to reach out to subscribers. Maybe it’d be a way as well to show off the pictures that I plan on taking. Making a mini-slideshow or something with them. Something to toy around with I guess. I really never learned on how to use the video editors because by the time I graduated *cough* 2002 *cough* things like Microsoft PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, Excel etc. were all beginning to come into popularity with not only business professionals but also teachers. I guess my question is do people even use cardboard to make presentations anymore? Or, has it gone to this new digital format? But I digress. So, those are just some things I’d like to concentrate in the upcoming year that I’d like to branch out into. Will it happen? If I can put my head to it and get things situated anything is possible. My own indecisiveness will be my only enemy. 

     

     What do you plan on doing for 2015? Feel free to share with the others at the bottom of this blog, or you can leave a comment on my Facebook page!

Returning to old trails

     This summer has been a summer of nostalgia for me. We have really seen a surge in movie remakes, reboots, and re-conceptualizations. The one thing that stuck out the most for me this summer that I’d really like to cover and have been talking about on and off on my Facebook now for a few months is that of Ghostbusters. I was a child of the 80’s and during the 1980’s a movie came out that would be forever in grained into what and who I am. Ghostbusters was released in 1984 and it being 2014 we have crept right up on the 30th anniversary of this movie. With the movie’s anniversary coming out Sony Studios re-released it into theaters for selective showings, and completely revamped the movie putting it into a Blu-Ray format for purchase. It’s bitter sweet as the series original writer, Harold Ramis passed away earlier this year and was not able to see the 30th anniversary come to fruition. But, since the anniversaries release, and the passing of Mr. Ramis it has created a huge buzz around the Ghostbuster fan universe and forums. It was announced that Ghostbusters III may actually see the big screen as the co-writer and creator Dan Aykroyd confirmed that Ghostbusters III was going to happen. Overall, the fans of Ghostbusters have been waiting for a very long time to hear this announcement.
     But, with this announcement came the possibility o reboots, and a re conceptualization of what the Ghostbusters are all together. Aykroyd had originally confirmed that he wanted to do another story, as a kind of ‘passing of the torch’ to a new generation of Ghostbusters. Which, if they find the right actors, and can lie down the best script and story possible I think it will be great. Now, with that said I would like to clarify my position on this. Over the years, there have been many scripts that have been swung around. Harold and Dan both had another script written and ready to present. Unfortunately, that script never got off the ground, and they were in the midst of revamping It and redrafting it shortly before Ramis death. I feel, and this is only my opinion is that the script should be completely done by the co-creator(s) of the series this next movie. I think that this third movie is imperative especially since the passing of Ramis. I’m not going to be one of those fans, or writers that will go in with a closed mind to the movie either way. I just want to see justice done for the series and overall the franchise of ‘Ghostbusters’. They need to make this almost an ode to Ramis, in my humble opinion because of the fact he had been the original writer of Ghostbusters. Make it almost a tribute If we are going to do this movie right, then let’s do it right. Think of Ramis and keep him in thought. I would hope that Aykroyd would hold all creative decisions over the movie and the making of it, much like him and Harold did for the Ghostbusters video game that came out in 2009.
Now, with all of that said if Aykroyd decides on another script for the movie, and doesn’t have any actual assistance in writing it. I would hope he would stick around for the screenplay. 

     I’m not going to go completely fan boy here, but I would like to see his hand involved with the movie and the progression of the storyline. Another big rumor going around is that the reboot will feature the four original Ghostbusters replaced by four female Ghostbusters. There is a huge up-roar over this as this option is also being explored. Initially, I really didn’t know how to take it. But, after giving it some careful consideration I’ve decided on this. This could be the perfect opportunity to introduce a whole new generation to the ‘Ghostbusters’ let people be taken into their world. It would bring a whole new light to the franchise and spark a whole new interest for it. Again, if the reboot is something that they are eyeing then I would hope that Aykroyd would be involved with the project. Ghostbusters is truly what got me interested in the paranormal (ghosts, UFOs, strange happenings, etc.) I will be happy to see another movie, but my hope is that it will be done correctly.
     Now with all of this said, I would like to take on my interpretation of movies and prequels, sequels, and after thoughts. Regardless of what Dan Aykroyd decides to do with the movie when it comes to fruition I will respect whatever he decides to do with it. You can’t be mad at the creator or co-creator of something if they decide to take their series in a new direction or a new path. The biggest thing I have a problem with at times is that when things are created and does not follow the canon idea. Anything that Dan Aykroyd or Harold Ramis did, does, or are going to do is going to be completely canon for me. There were a lot of upset people with Star Wars as well when the prequels came out. People were upset on the story, how it progressed, and how badly some of the characters in the movie were. But, again in the credits it says right there, written By George Lucas. The other thing that people have to remember to is that all of those stories had been drafted while he was in college. This wasn't a new idea that he decided to just draft up a prequel to the what we would considered original trilogy (Episodes 4,5,6). Of course, you will either like the movies, or you won’t. But, again you can’t be mad at the creator when he took the story, series, etc. in a direction that you didn't want him to.
     It would be like any writer out there that would take on the challenge of either continuing his story, or releasing another part of the story that no one had any idea about. People may like the concept? People may hate the concept. But, it is what the characters wanted, and it is what the writer wanted. I’ve been approached by people telling me how much they've hated a character, or they didn’t like what I did. I ask them what they didn’t like about it. They might have thought that the character acted out of character, or it didn’t seem like it would be something that the character would do. I follow up with. But! Did it add to the story and keep you engaged. They will agree with me, and I will smile and tell them that I did my job.

Wolf Tracks

     So, as the release date for ‘In With the Pack’ approaches, I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk a little bit about the book itself. When I opened up the question forum, I had a lot of the same questions so I thought I would go ahead and address them on the blog. I truly pride myself as a multi-genre writer. It is in my opinion, that if you take the time to only write in one particular genre and the idea of another type strikes you, then you are doing yourself a disservice as a writer, but also to the characters attempting to reach you to tell their particular story. However, with that said I also recognize writers that are only comfortable with one genre and prefer to stick with that. Just, for me it’s extremely hard to because of the fact I’ve always got characters coming to me on such opposite ends of the spectrums and where they place themselves. So, below I have three of the most asked questions about ‘In With The Pack’. Now if you are afraid that I’m going to reveal any kind of spoilers don’t worry about that. I won’t reveal anything that would ruin the book. I appreciate all of those who submitted questions, and are curious about the book. It excites me because this was truly an undertaking to write about such a strong character, and his story.

What inspired me to write about a wolf?

     I loved this question! As I had stated above, I have prided myself on being a multi-genre writer. Malakai actually appeared to me about two years ago. I was going through some tough emotional times, and the more I attempted to find a way to cope and deal with it I caught the sight of a Timber wolf in my mind’s eye. It was always the same that he approached me and the muse. Often times it was through a brushy area and just seemed to watch me. The idea of writing about an animal in itself really excited me because of the challenge that it presented. Not only, to come up with a story that keep people riveted but also a story that would be genuine and heartfelt, but I also embraced the challenge of writing about an animal, and the fact they are so limited to the kinds of things that they have the ability to do compared to a human character. I’ve always felt a kind of connection to the wolf, and as I proceeded through with the novel of ‘In With The Pack’ I’d continued to research native American legends, and the importance of the wolf in their culture. I’d found a description of animal totems, and the significance that they play in everyone’s life. I became totally enveloped more-so after the research I’d done and the novel came freely to me after that. Another driving force behind the inspiration of the book was Celtic music. It was easy to listen to any kind of a pan flute piece, or a piece involving a violin and I could see my pack. The Muse seemed to be absolutely driven by that type of music for this book it seemed to put her at ease and scenes where easily writeable if I had some soft music playing in the background. It was exciting getting to see everything come together like it did.


What was the motivation behind the story?

     Malakai came to me VERY much a loner in his own right. I started typing one night as I listened to him narrate to me. The more I wrote about this particular character I felt I could sympathize with him and his current plight that he had going on in his life. The more I wrote about him, the more he began to unravel his story to me. Originally, his story was about twenty pages long. It was more of a dictation to me and more of a revealing of what he’d been through. At that point, I figured I was living vicariously through him because of the kinds of issues that he was having, but soon found that we were completely different. His dictations had been broke up into actually three different short stories about significant changes in his life. The more I wrote about him, and the more he evolved as a character I began to wonder if he hadn’t been seeking me out as a way to help himself out. He questions everything as you will come to find out in the book, and maybe he just needed someone to bounce his own ideas off of. He started off incredibly depressed, and just in a black void. I felt compelled to help this wolf as I wrote, but as we all know characters will only take so much suggestion before they put their foot (or paw in this case) down. The story took off and evolved quickly as I wrote with him.

What kind of frame of mind was I in?

As I had stated, when I first started writing about Malakai I was in a very depressed mood. So the character reflects it at some points of the story. I was feeling kind of hopeless at the time when I started writing, but felt relieved after the three sections I had written. Two years go by, and Malakai appears to me again. But the wolf had come completely different to me. In fact, this time he was much more ambitious and curious about the world. So as we began to see him tell me his story my frame of mind had completely changed, from this dark and dreary back history to one of hope, and one of change. Malakai seemed to welcome that as I wrote on with his story, and things began to be whispered to me by other characters that appear in the book later! The overall result went from being depressed and alone in the world to realizing that if you search hard enough you will find ‘pack’. Or what Malakai considers being ‘pack’. What exactly is that? I cannot, and will not say because that is up to you as the reader to find out.


     A very special thank you again to all of those who submitted questions to me about the book. I am looking forward to meeting all of those who will be attending the book signings as well. I will have the dates, times, and places announced very soon! I will be traveling a little bit of all over the place. A few places here in the LC-Valley, St. Maries, Idaho, Sandpoint, and more to come!

When Characters Come Knocking...

     I think that if you had asked any writer ever, if they’d ever dreamt of seeing a book, a novel, maybe a comic or graphic novel, or a piece of their own music on the big screen that they would probably admit to you that it’s been a day dream. Even if it’s a fleeting dream, or even just a light consideration I would say that we’ve all probably thought about it. But then that begs to question really, what book, comic, music, etc. would you like to see of your own private work? Is there a certain story that you would like to share more than another being portrayed on the big screen? I’m just as guilty maybe day dreaming of which piece of my work I would like to see on the big screen. OceanView, would probably be better as a television show, as it is a continuation of stories about Fire/EMS and law enforcement. But, are there a lot of those shows on now? Would it make it anywhere? Or would shows like Chicago PD and Chicago Fire beat it out? Definitely things to consider when it comes to stories like that. But at the same time, maybe there is more substance that one can add to that particular genre that the creator’s and writers of the other show didn’t add before? But with that said what about the content of your stories?

     What kind of age demographic are you going for? Are you looking at pre-teens which a lot of movies are now-a-days, or are you wanting an adult genre? OceanView is aimed for more of an adult audience because of the content, language, and some of the scenes that the characters find themselves in. What about my Wolves and there Motley Crew of misfits? The content wouldn’t be that bad for any real type of audience. Since the book is getting ready to release I don’t want to include many spoilers about it, or what the book is about. I want my readers to enjoy the full satisfaction of getting to Meet Malakai, and his pack full-on without being told anything about them ahead of time. With this said, we’ve moved on and selected the piece of what we are wanting to use tougher questions are going to arise out of this. Since, I’m closer to the field of writing I’ll be touching more on this subject then I will with the graphic novels, or the music. I think it would be safe to say that several writers can tell you that a character is crystal clear in their heads. That, when the character comes to you and tells you they want discovered you see them for who and what they are. Every characteristic of them, from attitude to mentality, there looks, and all the way to what they really want out of their story being told. Is it as simple on the big screen for something like that to be achieved?
     What does it take for a character to come to life? Is it safe to say that if they somewhat resemble the character it’s ok? Or do you want them to channel the character, to be possessed by the presence and aura of the character? My characters are all very important to me, even the ones that are kind of standbys that are in the story but disappear throughout it and reappear. If you are going to do something dealing with another person’s world then you need to achieve it in such a way that the writer and all involved can walk away without feeling like they’ve been cheated. J.K. Rowling very clearly stated to Warner Bros. upon the making of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows movies that she wanted two separate movies, because if it’d been compacted into one movie than it would have cut a lot of the story out and explanation to the plot. Would you retain such an important role in the making of your movie or production? I think creative writes as a writer would definitely help secure your story from being tampered too much and it would keep the main plots in the movie or whatever the production to be true. I certainly know, that I would retain full creative writes over everything if someone approached me to make either “OceanView” or “In with the pack” to make sure it stayed true to itself and it wasn’t made into a scrappy idea that the production, or director wanted. This has sadly happened to several writers including one that was not allowed to finish his novel before the sequel was made.
     Is it better to find actors/actresses that haven’t been discovered yet to play your characters? Or is it better to go along with the A-list of people that are asked to do a lot of the movies today? Is Tom Cruise a good choice for a romantic heart throb character you have in your romance novel, next to Megan Fox? Is the chemistry right? Can they pull off the true emotions between the characters? Or is it simply better to look through the portfolio of actors/actresses that have applied and have them audition that way? I personally think that if I was put in the situation of casting for the movie, for my characters I would want someone who was true to the character. I would want someone that fit the personality of the voice that I can see in my head talking to me while I write. It would have satisfy me as well as the muse to say “Yes! That is my Marc Kennedy!” or “Yes! That is the voice of Malakai!” they would have to be heart felt about the rolls, and indicate to me that they could capture the essence of my characters in order for us to get this process moving forward.
     Walking through this now, we are at the point of “Are we going to need this to be an animated film? Or are we going to be able to do live action with this particular story. For me, the answer is two different ones. Yes and no. I don’t think you’d be able to pull off Malakai and his pack in a live-action film. Could it happen? Surely. But maybe another style would be better. With OceanView? Absolutely, I think that a live-action movie or show would be better pursued with this particular story. But for other writer’s there worlds may be a lot more complex than mine. Whereas I prefer to write realistic fiction some prefer the supernatural or fantasy realms. Can characters be re-created in all of their glories or again are different avenues to be taken. Maybe events, or fights in the story you’ve written couldn’t be physically possible for the screen. All things to be considered if you ever made the big times and got all the way to Hollywood.
     Now, some of you I can see saying “Grayson, is the only reason why you are writing is to become rich and famous?” Absolutely not, as I’ve mentioned in my blogs before I enjoy telling a good story. I’ve been writing for a lot of years. I started around the age of 12 and continue to be fully involved with my writing today. Even, if they are incomplete ideas I make sure that characters have voices, and events happen. Hell, sometimes you can get characters and scenes to match each other and you may be able to take totally separate ideas and mix them together to make one complete story. The point of this blog was just to ask all of you writers’ out there if you’ve ever just day dreamed and thought “If I had the opportunity would I take it?” Not only that, but not everyone is a reader. Not everyone can sit still long enough to read a book. I would look at this as another avenue for people to meet my characters. Whether it’s my officers from the OVPD, or meet some of the wolves from the plains they just may find joy in them! That is why I love to write, I love to tell stories to entertain people and if I can branch out from just literature to say, Graphic Novels, movies or short films I will! Today’s technology has provided boundless opportunity for both music and literary authors to reach out into unknown space.

Fandoms Today

     I know that it’s been a very long while since I’ve sat down and managed a blog. I felt compelled tonight to write one after having seen ‘Godzilla’ last night. I had managed to get some tickets to a pre-screening event and ended up taking my mother to the showing since she is a HUGE Godzilla fan. She always has been, and I have a feeling that she will always be. But with that said, this is what I’d like to concentrate on tonight for tonight’s blog. I would like to talk about the Fandoms and the huge span of comic books, graphic novels, and television shows that have impacted us today as a society. I think that it is safe to say that back in school (at least when I was in school) that you didn’t really expose to everyone that you had a fascination with comics. Either A) A fascination with comics or B) Television shows that would be considered geeky, nerdy, or outlandish to watch. If the bullies or anyone for that matter anyone in your grade found out that you were watching these shows, or reading these kinds of comics it often resulted in a total blacklist of your friendship and isolation from the rest of the kids in your grade. Always looked at as the nerd and teased about.
     To be honest, I’d never been one of the kids in school that was really into comics. Sure, I knew the difference between Marvel and DC Comics but that was about the extent of my knowledge on either of these groups. We had kids that kind of stuck to themselves with the comics. X-men had been HUGE when I was in school, trading cards, games, etc. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Mrs. Michaels introduced me to DC Comics, and Batman in almost a unreal way. We’d bought the game ‘Arkham Asylum’ for one of our gaming consoles and we started playing through it. Again, I’d never really been on the whole comic book scene so as we played through the game you started learning about these complex characters, and stories that all kind of intertwined with each other. Instantly, I knew that I was hooked. I’d always been huge into stories and good plot. Batman’s world surely didn’t disappoint me as we played through the game. Batman to me was always two people: Adam West or Michael Keaton? But, as we played through this game we became completely immersed in Batman’s world and wanted to learn more. To be honest, I have a couple of friends that I knew I could approach and really talk about this complex world of this one particular Superhero. That there was much more to Gotham’s Universe and the Dark Knight. The complexity of the mental struggle within Bruce Wayne. It was amazing!
     Pretty soon, it was beginning to fan out, and as I got drawn more into the DC universe it became apparent to me on really…how many people out their enjoyed comic books anymore! That, it was ok to express now-a-days that “Hey! I’m an avid Spiderman reader”, or “Hey! I’m an avid Batman reader”. I’ve mentioned time and time again that I’m HUGE into ‘The Walking Dead’ which started out as a Graphic novel. I think that TWD really got me drawn into wanting to explore more worlds, that where drawn rather than written. But this is only my example that I could help relate to this blog and kind of explain where I was coming from. Another great example is the amount of ‘gamers’ that are open about it now. Again, when I was a kid growing up if you were a gamer regardless of the system (Nintendo, Playstation, Genesis, etc.) you were considered a nerd and an outcast. Not as bad as the comic book kids but you were still an outsider to the social groups of the school. Now? Being a gamer is cool and accepted. It’s one of the biggest ways people spend time together now is through over the internet playing games! It’s amazing on how accepting and open our society has become in the means of peoples interests and those being able to express their likes and people being able to find others with similar interests!